BORDER Biscuits has lined up investment worth £3.5 million to grow sales and build market share, writes Scott Wright.

The family-owned firm, which made profits of £1.2m on sales of £17.9m last year, said a significant amount of the expenditure has been earmarked for investment in its Lanark factory, in part to support new product development.

Border, which is owned by John Cunningham and employs around 170 staff, said a portion of the investment will also be made on marketing, as it bids to drive sales of its flagship Dark Chocolate Ginger brand. Sales of the biscuit have increased by 38 per cent in the last two years.

The ginger biscuit will be backed by a UK-wide marketing campaign, including advertising, TV sponsorship and online activity, as the firm aims to grow its 11 per cent share of the branded biscuits market.

The campaign comes after Border, which is now stocked by Ocado, announced the removal of more than 90% of plastic from its packaging earlier this year.

Mr Cunningham said: “For the last 35 years, the flavours in our traditional recipes have played an important role in our customers enjoyment of our beautifully crafted biscuits. We are a growing family-owned business and we have an ambitious strategy to continue to build sales.”